The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry. The "IT" in the show's title can be pronounced as the letters IT /ˌaɪˈtiː/, as in the abbreviation for information technology, or as the word "it".1 Set in the London offices of the fictional Reynholm Industries, the show revolves around the three staff members of its IT department: a geeky genius named Maurice Moss (Ayoade), the work-shy Roy Trenneman (O'Dowd), and Jen Barber (Parkinson), the department head/relationship manager, who knows nothing about IT. The show also focuses on the bosses of Reynholm Industries: Denholm Reynholm (Chris Morris) and later, his son Douglas ([Berry). The comedy premiered on Channel 4 on 3 February 2006, and ran for four series of six episodes each. Although a fifth series was commissioned,[2 the programme was concluded with a special, one-off episode, aired on 27 September 2013.3456 The show was the third successful sitcom creation of Graham Linehan, following Father Ted (co-written with Arthur Mathews) and Black Books (co-written with Dylan Moran). Plot The IT Crowd is set in the offices of Reynholm Industries, a fictional British corporation in central London, located at 123 Carenden Road. It focuses on the shenanigans of the three-strong IT support team located in a dingy, untidy, and unkempt basement – a great contrast to the shining modern architecture and stunning London views enjoyed by the rest of the organisation. The obscurity surrounding what the company does serves as a running gag throughout the series – all that is known is that the company bought and sold ITV (a fact which Denholm Reynholm forgot completely), and once made part-year profits of "eighteen hundred billion billion". However; it is hinted that Reynholm Industries is a communications corporation, as Denholm Reynholm once claimed that the company, through buying mobile phone carriers and television stations, had created the largest communications empire in Great Britain. Douglas Reynholm claims his father Denholm Reynholm described the IT department as being run by "a dynamic go-getter, a genius and a man from Ireland".7 Roy and Moss, the two technicians, are portrayed as socially inept geeks or, in Denholm Reynholm's words, "standard nerds". Despite the company's dependence on their services, they are despised, ignored, and considered losers by the rest of the staff. Roy's exasperation is reflected in his support techniques of ignoring the phone in the hope it will stop ringing, and using reel-to-reel tape recordings of stock IT suggestions ("Have you tried turning it off and on again?" and "Is it definitely plugged in?"). He expresses his personality by wearing a different geek T-shirt in each episode.8 Moss's wide and intricate knowledge of all things technical is reflected in his extremely accurate yet utterly indecipherable suggestions, while he demonstrates a complete inability to deal with practical problems like extinguishing fires and removing spiders. Moss is completely unable to deal with others in a rational manner, often citing bizarre facts about himself or technology, and is occasionally arrogant around others when it comes to computers. Jen, the newest member of the team, is hopelessly non-technical, despite claiming on her CV that she has "a lot of experience with computers". As Denholm, the company boss, is equally tech-illiterate, he is convinced by Jen's interview bluffing and appoints her head of the IT department. After meeting Roy and Moss she redefines her role as "relationship manager", yet her attempts at bridging the gulf between the technicians and the business generally have the opposite effect, landing Jen in situations just as ludicrous as those of her team-mates. Series 1 The first series of The IT Crowd features the entry of Jen, and how geeks such as Roy and Moss can build up a relationship with someone hopelessly computer-illiterate like Jen. Series 2 Through the second series, Roy and Moss make an attempt at becoming more social by trying to make new friends. Meanwhile Jen has trouble with the new head of Reynholm Industries, Douglas Reynholm. Series 3 Roy gets himself into more awkward situations with football fans, builders and general nerds. Jen shows how tech-illiterate she is to an even further extent, while Moss very briefly loses some of his computer skills and, on top of that, there are run-ins with bank robbers. Series 4 The most recent series generally concentrates on the IT Department's interactions amongst themselves, and their relationship with outsiders: Roy's break-up from a long-term relationship, Moss's combat with his inner rebel, Jen's relationship with a new boyfriend, and Douglas' acceptance of the "loss" of his wife. 2013 special "The Internet Is Coming" (sometimes incorrectly referred to as "The Last Byte"),91011 the final episode of The IT Crowd, aired as a one-off special on 27 September 2013.3 Production began in 2011, and filming finished in July 2013. Chris O'Dowd (Roy) had this to say after filming the finale: "It was lovely to say hello to the characters again – but also to say goodbye to them. I think we've probably done it now and I'd be surprised if we did any more."12 The IT Crowd Nightedit On Christmas Eve 2013, Channel 4 aired a special IT Crowd Night. It featured Katherine Parkinson as her character Jen Barber, now acting manager at Reynholm Industries, introducing the segments of the IT Crowd Night as part of a "corporate webisode". The night started at 9PM with the special "The Internet is Coming". After that, the IT Crowd Manual aired. It is a behind-the-scenes documentary narrated by Stephen Mangan, featuring interviews with the main cast, and various other guest stars who appeared on the show, in the form of a manual, with each subject of the series (characters, studio, audience) having its own chapter. The night featured two favourite episodes: the fans' favourite was "The Work Outing",13 and series creator Graham Linehan's favourite was "The Final Countdown".14